The Beginners Guide to Torque Wrenches

[Sittingduck]

The mechanics at a few of our local bike shops recommended this one - not the cheapest but good for small stuff & the one they all use at home (as opposed to the very expensive ones they use at their places of work). I started using one because the cost of the damage that could result from over torqueing is eye watering.

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004XHXE1I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That’s the one I have, although pretty sure mine wasn’t obtained via amazon. Been good so far.

 

[tribanjules]

That’s the one I have, although pretty sure mine wasn’t obtained via amazon. Been good so far.

Looks like the £16 Planet X one I bought

 

[keithmac]

End of the day you get what you pay for, repeatability is the key factor.

I have a Snap-on Micrometer and Digital Torque wrench and both score very well on repeatability, I've repaired a few motorcycles where people have used poor torque wrenches and have snapped critical bolts.

It's nice to see a number and hear a click or a beep but you've got to be sure it's in the right ballpark.

 

[Two-Wheels]

Apologises for bumping a few month old thread. I was going to ask about torque wrenches, used the search & found this.

I suspected with the torque figured we'd be talking, most folk here wouldn't bother with torque wrenches. Came to that conclusion when I've asked about certain settings on the car & 99.9% of people just seem to say "hand tight then nip it" for so many things.

Well I've done "hand tight" for things. I remember "just nipping" my radiator when we were doing the living room. Twice in certainly a fortnight I had to call an emergency plumber as I was flooding the living room by my "just nip".
Recently I broke my Wahoo mount by "just nipping" it after it kept going loose on my handlebars.

So I said sod it & bought a torque wrench for the job as I bought an out front mount for the Wahoo. My first attempt at fitting it had the handlebars drop & then I thought you know what, I'm sick of breaking stuff, I'm buying a torque wrench.

Torque wrench landed. Draper 78639 for those who aren't keen on clicking.

7Nm was the setting printed on the bike.

So I set it & I'm damn sure that at least one of the sides is much more than 7Nm. It took a fair bit of turning before it clicked & I'm saying now that one side clicked after more tension than the other side.

Not only that but the locking nut on the bottom doesn't bloody lock. I've never used these types of torque wrenches before (my 2 Halfords ones are a bit different) so I don't know if it's supposed to move but when I tighten the nut at the base, if I turn to adjust the torque, it lets me with very little resistance. It's supposed to be locked.

So the thing is getting sent back I'm afraid.

 

[keithmac]

A bad torque wrench is worse than no torque wrench imho. It's one if the tools you get what you pay for.

7nm is 1/4 drive ratchet territory with a "nip" for me.

May have been worth a drop of Blue Locktite on the allen bolt that kept coming loose.

 

[Two-Wheels]

A bad torque wrench is worse than no torque wrench imho. It's one if the tools you get what you pay for.

Wasn't really sure what a 'fair' price was for it to be honest.

Looks like Halfords have changed the look of the ones I bought from them, although what they sell now appears similar.

Although mine is identical to this one. Or if that link doesn't work then this one.

I liked them because it's real easy to set it to spec. You just line the line up with the precise number you want & lock it. No lining up with a number then adding more numbers to make your number. When it locks it locks, there's literally no altering it unless you unlock the 'nut' at the bottom.

7nm is 1/4 drive ratchet territory with a "nip" for me.

The Draper torque wrench I bought in my link in the last post is 1/4 drive. Before this landed I did have at it but the bolts wouldn't lock up and stop the handlebar rotating initially.
Then i tightened it even more and even more, then I heard what I thought was a crack although I couldn't see one. That's when I said you know what, I'm sick of breaking things through overtightening - I'm buying a torque wrench and doing it exactly to spec.

May have been worth a drop of Blue Locktite on the allen bolt that kept coming loose.

Yeah the existing bolts had some on so I bought some as well.

Did a bit of Googling & found a bit of arguing between folk as to whether 242/243 (whichever it is) was suitable for the bike. Some arguing it's more car grade stuff & saying 222 is what you want for the bike.

Which is what I bought in the end - Loctite 222.

 

[keithmac]

It's possible your accessories (allen bolts) were bundled with poor quality fasteners (which isn't unheard of).

If they look poor quality just bin them.

For me 8.8 or 10.9.

Someone on here must be able to recommend a good torque wrench (Park seem good kit?), my Snap-on Tech-angle was £650 but a bit extreme for occasional use.

Halfords Adavance seems good home kit?. For a low NM micrometer torque wrench I would say £80,isn't out of the way?.

A 2nd hand one from a decent manufacturer is better than new cheaper!.

 

[keithmac]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163719618711

 

[Two-Wheels]

Out of interest, what's to avoid about the £25-£40 area of torque wrenches?

They sell them & some of these actually get decent reviews. The one I bought I partly selected because it got 4.5/5 off 500+ reviews.

So what's to avoid them really?

I'm aware of throwaway phrases such as "you get what you pay for" but there's a phrase and situation to counter every other phrase or situation.
You can go buy a £100 kettle but if at the end of the day all you're wanting to do is boil some water and don't care for any flashing lights or whatever, then a £10 kettle will tick your box just fine. It'll still do the job.

 

[Jameshow]

I use the short end of an Allen to tighten a bolt and the long end to unlock.

Never had a problem with stems etc.

Seat posts clamps take a good bit more say half way along the long side.

Bb30 / crank bolts need the most tbh a good wrench full.

I should get a torque wrench some day!!

 

[presta]

A bad torque wrench is worse than no torque wrench

Indeed, but it's trivially easy to check the calibration of a torque wrench, so there's no excuse for being in any doubt. I have a good quality Norbar torque wrench like this one, but as it's 40 odd years old I checked the calibration a few years ago (it was still ok).

In fact, that Norbar was bought for the car originally, so as that's a bit too big for anything much other than bottom brackets and pedals, the majority of fixings on my bike are tightened the same way as for checking the wrench calibration anyway: a spring balance to measure the force, and a ruler to measure the radius.

I've lost count of the number of times I've pointed out on cycling forums that you don't need a torque wrench to measure torque, but nobody ever seems to notice. A wrench is just a bit quicker and more convenient, it's not a necessity.

 

[keithmac]

Out of interest, what's to avoid about the £25-£40 area of torque wrenches?

They sell them & some of these actually get decent reviews. The one I bought I partly selected because it got 4.5/5 off 500+ reviews.

So what's to avoid them really?

I'm aware of throwaway phrases such as "you get what you pay for" but there's a phrase and situation to counter every other phrase or situation.
You can go buy a £100 kettle but if at the end of the day all you're wanting to do is boil some water and don't care for any flashing lights or whatever, then a £10 kettle will tick your box just fine. It'll still do the job.

It all depends on what you end up with most important is repeatability and calibration.

If you're buying one not to wreck a £5k Carbon frame I'm sue you can find a few more pennies under the sofa.

I personally wouldn't torque wrench a 5nm fastener but saying that I work with tools all day long.

I'm sure your torque wrench is more than adequate, for what I use mine for (building engines)£650 was a no brainer.

You definitely do get what you pay for, my Snap-on ratchets were worth every penny. Same with their screwdrivers etc, when you use them every day it's worth the extra. Some of my tools have been in daily use for 25 years now.

 

[Two-Wheels]

It all depends on what you end up with most important is repeatability and calibration.

If you're buying one not to wreck a £5k Carbon frame I'm sue you can find a few more pennies under the sofa.

I personally wouldn't torque wrench a 5nm fastener but saying that I work with tools all day long.

I'm sure your torque wrench is more than adequate, for what I use mine for (building engines)£650 was a no brainer.

You definitely do get what you pay for, my Snap-on ratchets were worth every penny. Same with their screwdrivers etc, when you use them every day it's worth the extra. Some of my tools have been in daily use for 25 years now.

I suppose that's a huge factor. If it's either your job or your hobby - something you're doing regular, then you want to know you're working with decent equipment as you're doing it too frequent to be handling crap all the time.

I've lost count of the number of times I've pointed out on cycling forums that you don't need a torque wrench to measure torque, but nobody ever seems to notice.

For the vast majority of people, you're probably right.

However I can assure you that I can quite easily prove you wrong though and not even to purposely do so.

Side note - that torque wrench looks quite familiar. Looks like one my dad had. He'll have done a lot of tinkering on cars around the 60s-80s & it will have come from somewhere round then I imagine.

 

[scotsbikester]

If you think you need a torque wrench, you almost certainly do.

A lot of people will talk about how they tighten fasteners by "feel", so don't need a torque wrench. The very same people will then say that torque wrenches become inaccurate and need calibrating. Whereas their "feel" is always perfectly calibrated, apparently.

I have three "click" type wrenches, covering the range needed on a bike. Two are Teng, the low range one is ProbikeKit or something. All three came with calibration certificates. I also have a beam type wrench, because there are two left hand threads on a bike - the drive side BB cup, and the non drive side pedal. And there are very few click type wrenches that measure torque in an anti-clockwise direction.

Be very careful of people (including manufacturers and retailers) who tell you that such and such a torque wrench "works" both ways. Although a ratchet type click torque wrench may drive a socket in both ways it almost certainly WON'T measure torque on a left handed fixing.

The Park Tool is unusual in measuring in both directions:

https://www.mantel.com/en/park-tool-torque-wrench-tw62

It works in both directions. Watch the video to see it clicking on a left hand thread. It's not cheap, though it would actually replace three of mine. If I'd known about it at the outset I would have bought it. The range is good for bike use.

 

[Two-Wheels]

If you think you need a torque wrench, you almost certainly do.

A lot of people will talk about how they tighten fasteners by "feel", so don't need a torque wrench. The very same people will then say that torque wrenches become inaccurate and need calibrating. Whereas their "feel" is always perfectly calibrated, apparently.

For me it's very very simple - I know me, I know how I work & I know what I do - I damage things.

I've broken things numerous times on the car through overtightening.
I've flooded the living room twice through overtightening.
I broke a mount for the Wahoo last week through overtightening.

There's a reason for it. I tighten it up and then (especially in the case of the radiator), I think that's probably not enough, I'll give it a bit more, then I think the same again, then I think what if it still works loose/leaks, I'll give it that 'just nip' that everyone loves to talk about.

*snap/bend/crack*

It's all well & good saying don't keep doing it up but what if what I've done isn't enough anyway.

So yeah, it's basically got to the point where if someone has put a torque setting on it then that's what I'll do it to, then I know it's right.

Even if the torque wrench is out a bit, it's still likely to be a better approach than MY 'just nip'

And thanks for the tip in the latter part of your post.